Alexander Zemlianichenko—APA man guards a road intersection as pro-Russian activists strengthen the barricades in front of the Ukrainian regional office of the Security Service in Slavyansk, May 7, 2014.

Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine plan to hold an autonomy referendum despite a request by Vladimir Putin to postpone. The coordinating committee of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic announced that it would hold the vote on Sunday

The coordinating committee of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic met Thursday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and said afterward that the referendum would happen on Sunday as planned, the Associated Press reports. It’s unclear how the Kremlin will respond.

Putin said Wednesday the referendum should be postponed and claimed that Russian troops amassed along the border had pulled back, two moves apparently aimed at deescalating tensions in the region. Putin, however, maintained his calls for Ukraine’s military to cease operations against separatists that have spawned deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine.